Chuck vs Marvel
by Shutupnkissme313
Summary: As we all know Chuck is a DC guy, but there was an IMDB conversation about Yvonne's place in the Marvel universe, when I was confirming she was to be on 24. There is a significant change to a character, however this is Charah and minimal angst. Most fans should be able to tell when this is happening in the 2nd chapter. Hope you enjoy it.
1. The Tease

**The Tease**

He noticed the sweat on his palms as he reached for the doorbell, hoping the thirteen months away has softened the emotional blows he delivered the last time he saw her. After a delay long enough to make him feel uncomfortable the door opened with a tall man and a stoic façade staring at him. The man scanned him up and down, looked past me into the courtyard, scowled, and then tilted his head to the living room as the sign for me to enter, not before grunting at me as I walked past him. Sitting down on the couch instinctively I look for exits and things that would seem out of place, my mouth dried as I realized the only way out was where I came in from and knew I was in trouble if things were not as peaceful as he was led to believe from a communication he received. The silence added to the discomfort and finally the tall man spoke to him from his post behind him.

"It took you thirteen months to find your balls and come back here," he said dismissively, "you broke the heart of the only true partner I've ever had. The fact that she is willing to even see you shows how good of a person she is. I don't care what you've done in the past; it's simple you hurt her, I end you."

Through the talk he walked closer to him until he was right in front of him, dropping down to his level as he delivered the last line to signify its seriousness. After the soliloquy, this man was never known for speaking at length, it was reduced to an eye staring contest, knowing that whoever blinked first lost this first battle. He felt himself starting to flinch and reverting back to his training chose a non-confrontational manner to handle it. Making a big production he sported a huge grin and closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them back wide again and extended his arms outward. The other man was caught by surprise, leaned back and arching an eyebrow as he analyzed the situation. At that moment there was a ding, followed by a small door opening and closing and into the living room strode a beautiful woman. Looking over the current setting she tilted her head and smiled, "I cannot believe you actually showed up… Bryce Larkin from Connecticut.

_**A/N: The next chapter will explain this setup. I just wanted to put something in. As I said in the summary this is Charah and with no angst. The next chapter should be up within a day. **_


	2. Deconstruction of a Douchebag

_**A/N: So one of the three people is Bryce, he is the person whose fortune has changed. He is neither dead nor undead and this chapter will be mostly about what he's done to bring him on this couch. From the title of the chapter it will be clear how he fits in with Team Intersect. Huge apology for the delay; I could not get this chapter to work. Warning this may be a long chapter. I do not own Chuck or Marvel; however I will try to claim ownership of the term 'Schwartzfedak'. Maybe t-shirts at the 2015 Nerd HQ.**_

**Chapter 2: Deconstruction of a Douchebag**

"So… how'd he do?" The woman asked Bryce as she bounced to the couch.

"Frankly, I am shocked. When Chuck told me the story about the bear, there is no way that this could be the same person." Turning to Devon, "You were pretty intimidating, studying Casey I would guess? But is this level necessary for Hot Mama and Six-Pack?"

"Yes, Casey was the blueprint, as far as necessary the first adventure was a little disappointing." Looking at his wife and she nodded her agreement, "The second time we were kidnapped."

"Whoa! When did this happen and why didn't Chuck tell me?"

Ellie then spoke up, "It just happened, you were coming here already and there was nothing you could have done. If you were unable to make it I would have brought it up in the next email. "She then proceeded to tell the story of jumping out of a limo into the devious arms of a woman who could have been a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. Bryce looked at Devon and after looking at Ellie confirmed with a nod. She finished up the story and asked, "I don't know if you're on vacation, but I'm sure that Chuck could probably use your help on this; he's been frantic about this."

Things started clicking for Bryce, why General Beckman flew him out on her plane. There was an assignment packet, but it left out any involvement from Chuck, Sarah, Ellie… and trying to put it together left many unanswered questions. "The Omen Virus; Decker had Chuck obtain it, but from the time frame he was blown up before your kidnapping…" Seeing Ellie's blank look told him he shared too much, but Devon chimed in.

"Gertrude Verbanski blew him up; she and Casey have um…"

"Sarah explained the relationship as best as she could understand it." Bryce chimed in.

Devon looked at his wife starting to become upset at not being told, "Ok, honey; Morgan just told me and I was going to tell you right after Christmas." Ellie shot her husband a disbelieving look. "Fine, look at my calendar the 26th Noon, do not look any time beyond that." She strode towards their bedroom while Devon shared what he knew about Casey thrown in jail, Verbanski joining on this mission, Chuck going in as a hacker, Decker's betrayal, and the switcheroo and the fact that they set a time every week just to make sure that both had the same amount of knowledge regarding the spy lives of their family. Just then a squealing Ellie Bartowski burst back into the room.

"You looked at 3pm" Devon stated. Ellie could only nod her head enthusiastically. "Not awesome, if Clara wakes up you're taking care of her, but you didn't look at 6pm did you?" Ellie then slowed and shook her head. "Visiting with parents," Ellie's eyes opened wide and would ask Sarah to add industrial strength cleaner from Large Mart to her list. "Hon, Chuck's setup something like Skype that should be immune to the Omen, but since you've taken away my 3pm surprise I'll just have to tell you a story that will make you call my mom crying."

"Devon, I cannot see how that would happen ever."

"Ah, a challenge I accept." They both realized at the same time they were not alone during this exchange and looked at an extremely abashed spy.

Ellie spoke first, "Sorry Bryce, I know this is awkward enough after the last time we tried this, but I think there should be a little more comfort from the e-mails."

"Don't worry about it Ellie, I just wasn't sure if you'd rather be alone at this time. I know you've put through a number of questions that I didn't want to go into through the net. I think it best to save that summer before Chuck and my senior year and your dad at the end this time." Ellie agreed as she remembered telling Bryce to leave as he was attempting to explain these things last year, but she did accept a card with an email address and after a discussion with Devon the three began a correspondence that both sides were consistent on at least every other week, but was usually weekly, unless Bryce sent them one which said 'Hermes' that meant he was going on a mission and may miss a 'deadline'. For the most part the emails were benign, but were friendly and warm which made this meeting much more amicable. "I think the best place to start is the point where my outlook began to change at your beach wedding."

Devon quickly interrupted, "I just wanted to thank you for helping save us from Roark and watching over the second wedding."

"That second part is probably the reason that I am actually here. After Chuck rejected the analyst position for the Intersect team I wanted and Sarah was scheduled to leave with me. Looking at all of you something clicked and I asked Sarah if she was still going and when she said 'no' a number of emotions ran through me that hadn't in quite some time: bewilderment and contentedness. I'm not sure if I hadn't asked Sarah then if she would have come for the sake of duty. It was the first time I'd done something for somebody else in a long time and it was completely subconsciously, but almost instantly I felt good for Chuck and Sarah. I don't know how much they shared with you about what happened during your reception, but I was led into a trap so that the Ring could grab the Intersect Cube. I was able to lock myself into the room, but had been shot in the gut. Because of my previous resuscitation by Fulcrum, my boss, Langston Graham had given me a cyanide capsule. He also gave to me an experimental drug that was to slow all metabolic processes and extend the brain's ability to process oxygen prolonging the time before damage can occur. Chuck came through the ceiling and told me about Sarah and Casey, I tried to move but knew I had little time left. About all I could do was give Chuck the device to destroy the cube and take the pill." Judging from the looks on the two faces even though it was obvious which pill he took they wanted some reassurance.

"If Chuck hadn't shown up I would have taken the cyanide capsule, what changed my mind was when he said 'I could do anything'. Just before Chuck put in the device to destroy it I could see him hesitate and then what I assumed was the Intersect download starting up before I blacked out. The next thing I remember…"

As Bryce's brain unfurrowed from the fog of another near death experience he was trying to quickly ascertain whether he made the right call on his choice of pill. As he quickly took a self inventory his body felt tired and he was strapped to the bed, but not with handcuffs; there was still a lot of pain in his gut. With that he then ascertained the three possible scenarios: 1) captured by the Ring who hopefully had not located his cyanide pill, 2) somehow Sarah and Casey made it through and rescued them, 3) Hell, and for some it would be said it was about time. He slowly opened his eyes to find a hospital room and hearing all the standard equipment started to rule out number 3 before he quickly scanned over to a built-in couch where he saw his ex-partner and ex-best friend just sitting there with their foreheads touching, hands grazing each others. Then their eyes opened simultaneously and what would appear to be a staring contest between the two was only contradicted by their blinking at the same time. At this point Hell seemed a strong possibility as he felt guilt in just watching the two.

Bryce closed his eyes and silently counted to ten to see if this was some medicated mirage, but when he opened them they were still there completely lost to each other and their surroundings. He felt confident in taking 1 off the table as they would be undoubtedly watched and doubted the Ring would keep them together. As Bryce thought about it he laughed to himself 3 might be an easier option than 2 at this point when his abdominals flinched he felt a very sharp pain which opened his eyes wide but was able to maintain his silence. His eyes quickly focused back to the scene in front of him which would be considered chaste for junior high students, but knowing these two people this was more intimate than most couples would ever achieve. For all the things he has done and witnessed this was the second time he felt shame, this time he was the impure one.

The mission before Sarah and he became partners he was in Bogota surveilling an asset who was laundering money for a reported Fulcrum outpost. Communication became compromised, but Bryce had enough to know the others were scumbags, but not Fulcrum; any remote connection would be gotten from interrogation. After the last meet the scumbags gave the asset keys to a jeep and all had a good laugh before the asset took off. Having placed a tracker inside the cash container and knowing the two places they went to he decided to follow the asset and whatever remnants were left of his soul after Chuck and Stanford were shattered from what he saw in that isolated cabin. The mission went off without a hitch as the entire group was caught, Bryce's unsanctioned secondary mission did as well as the asset was found with two bullets in the back of the head and five in the groin. Graham's immediate fury was waylaid as Bryce told of the cabin and the fact he had already turned the person who would take the previous asset's position. As Graham snarled for Bryce to take a week to contemplate his actions; Bryce nodded and calmly placed a flash drive on the Director's desk. A few hours later he was given a call to be at the Director's office at 0745, Bryce was there and let in at 0730. Graham delivered a talk whose main line was 'I cannot condone what you did, but I won't condemn you either.' At 0800 Bryce was anxious to see what not being condemned entailed. It turned out having a striking blonde named Sarah Walker enter the room and Graham announce they were now partners with their first assignment the next day.

Their first missions went according to plan or better, however he had adapted far better than Sarah had and they both realized it so his solution was to seduce her. Which worked perfectly; their next missions were increasingly difficult, but were pulled off so well Graham would do a Mad Libs on their report changing the names and places and put it to the trainees at Langley as textbook spy craft. An overall exhaustion was taking over Bryce at this point, but according to his physical he was in top shape. Following a courier to Winnipeg he acknowledged to himself that Sarah had surpassed him. Not that he had dropped; she just had the confidence and bravado to handle virtually anything they came across. A few days later the inevitable happened, he made a stupid mistake; granted an analyst never questioned him on it or even seemed to notice it from his report. After another successful mission Sarah was prepared to celebrate the way they normally did.

"Whoa, bro. I'm sorry, but I don't think I can handle hearing anything sex related with Sarah."

Bryce smiled and said, "There wasn't going to be any details, but this is kind of a turning point." Devon and Ellie both nodded to continue. "So we were in a bar in the hotel and our flight to DC wasn't until the next afternoon, she got up to go to the bathroom and I ordered three shots. We'd each do one and then pick out something like darts or pool and the loser would drink the third; instead I finished off all three before she got back. She was smiling when she got to the table, but that disappeared seeing the three empty shot glasses. She asked if I was alright, three more shots were placed on the table and after the waitress left I asked if she put my mistake in her report as I saluted and had my fourth. She had hers in her hand and was caught between which to do first answer or drink, finally she softly said, 'no' and downed her shot when I grabbed the last one and downed it saying that's for being a better partner than me, because I did include it. Finishing the beers we had in silence we then went upstairs and after sweeping I broke the silence by telling her I had changed her report to include it. The look morphed from pissed at me for changing the report to grateful so she wouldn't be questioned by Graham to wonderment at how I did it. I told her I had a good friend at Stanford who showed me a few tricks. A tear formed in my right eye and I quickly got up and told her I just needed to take a walk and I'll be right back. A few shots and beers later I found myself back in the room telling a Chuck story and she laughed for the first time in the twenty months or so we'd been partners. Which brought about some conflict."

"Conflict?" asked Ellie.

Just as Bryce was about to answer, a smile came over Devon as he figured it out, "At first Bryce slept with Sarah for the mission and now…"

"Now he was beginning to have feelings for her and didn't know how that would change their dynamic." Finished Ellie smiling, until she looked at Bryce, "Do you still have feelings for Sarah?"

"Ellie, yes I do, but that's really not... Where was I? Yes anyways coming up was our two year 'anniversary' and the CIA doesn't like to keep 'couples' together for more than two years. They feel it is the maximum time frame agents can stay together before they choose to truly be together or break apart. We still had about three months or so and Graham called me in to say he was setting up my next assignment; I needed to make some mistakes, not ones to blow the mission but enough to be noticed and be reprimanded for. I asked if he had Sarah's next assignment and he said she was to be given a new cover and placed under a handler as I was about to protest, it clicked that Graham didn't trust the handler. For our final missions they weren't difficult although they had me seducing one or two women per and as ordered I made the mistakes. As you could guess both of these upset Sarah, but frankly at the time I could care less." He paused at this moment because he knew he'd been injecting too much of his current self onto his former Bryce Larkin spy extraordinaire persona. Both were attempting to absorb that, but it wasn't quite registering.

"When Devon said that about the feelings it wasn't mine I was considering, I was certain that Sarah had developed feelings for me when at that point sleeping with her was just as tedious as the marks for the missions. I knew she liked my college stories and I could see every so often she'd get this wistful look which was good because it meant I was going to get some sleep." The coldness in his eyes showed the truth of the statement and the two doctors had a true glimpse of Bryce Larkin, Spy. "I am not that person anymore, but from the summer before my senior year to your wedding that was me."

"WHY would you keep on trying to get Sarah to follow you?"

"It was simple Ellie, self-preservation, from the time I was 'resurrected' my assignment was to pretend to be the Intersect, allowing myself to be spotted in places to test if agents were traitors, working on missions with some, trying to find inroads to Fulcrum. I'd spend an hour or two at a four star hotel and end up sleeping in a corner of a freight car. Not being able to trust anybody will wear on even the best spy, especially when your purpose is to encourage the mistrust. Sarah I could trust and was able to watch my back. The few times Graham would provide me with a backup, they would either be a burnout or inexperienced and after a second time an agent proved to be Fulcrum when I wasn't in Burbank I was alone." Looking at the two sad faces staring at him. "Listen, it was important, it kept Fulcrum away from Chuck which kept him out of a bunker and no as much of an asshole that I was I would never have revealed Chuck as the Intersect although it was for my benefit more than his."

"You would have failed your mission."Devon said glumly.

"Yes, sorry about this huge tangent I went on, but I think you needed to know what my mindset had been for a long time, in order to truly understand the change. Well perhaps that may be presumptuous on my part, but for me to even ask that of Sarah at your wedding was completely out of character." Bryce said calmly.

"Why did you?" Ellie asked a little robotically.

"I am not sure, "picking up on her tone, "Do you want to continue this later? I don't want to ruin another party." She shook her head so Bryce continued. "It may have been the setting, or the Fulcrum threat finally over, but it was probably the look on Chuck's face. I had completely forgotten how happy he could be and it probably sparked the last shred of humanity in me. The look on Sarah's face showed she needed him as much as he needed her, besides with the 2.0 I wouldn't need the best spy backing me any of the other three in the top five would have sufficed. "Both doctors smiled and Bryce felt some relief that he might actually get to taste the cooking Chuck had started bragging about well over a decade ago.

"So, I was in the hospital watching them, feeling like I was intruding."

"Don't worry that happens more often than you would think, "added Devon.

Bryce gave an understanding laugh, "Nice to have some company on that, but anyways I realized they had taken out my intubation tube my throat felt completely raw and my abdomen was on fire, with the restraints I couldn't feel if there was a problem. So, I tried to move to perhaps see what was causing it, but this time the pain was too great and I let out this guttural cry, all I could see were stars and knew I was going to be passing out soon. The noise did startle them and shook them from their love-stare. At that point I decided to share the secret I had not told anyone, but the pain and throat unwilling to accommodate it dug my hole a little more deeply. In my mind I said all the words, but Chuck and Sarah both said the only words that came out were, 'Sex… Sarah… made me… gay' I then swore I heard a 'Tee hee hee' and a door quickly open and close before the nothingness overtook me. I imagine that the looks on your faces were slightly less shocked than theirs. What I was trying to say thinking back on it wasn't much better, but it was 'Sex with Sarah made me realize I was gay' I wasn't insulting her…"

"You're gay then why did you…" Said a shocked Eleanor Woodcombe.

"We will get to that night, Devon knows right?"

"Yes, were you trying to say something like you cared about Sarah and that the reason you could not have a true relationship with her was because you realized you were gay. Are you serious? If so, when did you figure this out?" Devon queried with a puzzled look on his face that he was working through this while he was talking, unsure if he was right at all.

"That is what I was trying to let them know, also with the history Sarah and I had knowing Chuck he might have been intimidated. I wanted to let him know I would never pursue Sarah."

Bryce was correct that the glassy stares from the married couple did not show nearly the same confusion that Chuck or Sarah had. The closing of the door jolted Chuck out of his stupor, and as he went into the hallway he could see a large Colonel turning the corner heading outside and could swear he heard the loudest belly laugh in his life. Suddenly realizing he left Sarah with Bryce and had no idea what her reaction was. He quickly went back into the room and she was just staring at him with a look of bewilderment. Chuck looked down and saw a large blood spot and quickly pressed the call button before he started to faint which did finally jolt Sarah who grabbed Chuck and softly said, "Why would he say that?"

Chuck overcame his lightheadedness to comfort his Sarah, "He has to be joking, although when we were being hazed…"

"Wait, you were with Bryce for that, what about…" as Sarah shared one of Bryce's stories.

"How did you hear about that?" Chuck said as he looked across the room knowing the answer had been in the empty bed his ex-roommate was just taken from. Chuck returned two days later as Bryce regained consciousness.

"What happened?" Bryce croaked out.

"Your intestine broke through the suture line and there is a fear of infection so you're going to be getting quite a few antibiotics over the next few days." Chuck answered solemnly, "Bryce why would you say that to Sarah?" From the questioning look on his face he continued, "You said that sex with Sarah made you gay. I know you were joking, but still…" The look on Bryce's face told him it wasn't a joke, "How could that be? You're Bryce Larkin, superspy."

"Chuck, I am and that's not how I wanted to tell either of you. I am not surprised she's not here, a little that you are. Nothing…huh you were easier to make smile at Stanford, but I took that away from you." Bryce sighed, "Listen, I know I've treated the both of you badly and while I don't deserve it I would like the opportunity to talk to both of you and after that just say the word and I will never see either of you again." With that Sarah walked into the room and Chuck pointed to his ear, "There aren't any other bugs are there?" This coaxed an uneasy smile from Chuck while Sarah had her Enforcer face fixed on Bryce.

Looking at the two doctors, "So while not as succinctly as Devon put it I was able to get them to understand I wasn't trying to insult Sarah, after some pleading she accepted it, somewhat, letting me know that she requested to be in charge of my rehab which caused what little color to quickly leave my face so she added 'Yes I am going to get medieval on your ass.'

"'Wait! You've seen a movie and quoted it.' She beamed and Chuck looked at her adoringly and they kissed for a while which got me thinking about Pulp Fiction when I could feel my eyes flutter and felt nauseous. They stopped and Sarah was all set to hit the call button when I stopped her, blinked and said 'I didn't know Marsellus and The Wolf were based on real people.' Chuck got his panic face on and Sarah wasn't too far behind. 'So this is what it feels like. You downloaded it before you destroyed it.' I grimaced as Chuck nodded his head before the panicked look returned, Sarah asked him what was wrong and he replied without knowing how much I absorbed if there were incomplete images he had no idea what that would do. I asked where my phone was and they gave it to me so I contacted the one person who could know, Orion."

"So I had to contact my dad via the classified section while you had his number!" Upset, anger, and puzzlement all fought to take control of that exclamation.

"I was getting the Intersect loaded; it was a one-time call in case of an emergency. " Bryce shrugged not knowing anything else to add. "I got your dad on the phone and told him I had been shot during the process of uploading and blacked out before it was done. Chuck made me promise to not tell him he downloaded it, I said I would not tell Orion. Orion said to be sure there was one thing he had to do, but would be there in about three to four hours. Initially Chuck said for me to not think of anything which caused me to roll my eyes at him and Chuck smiled saying he doubted the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man would be in the intersect and that we probably should avoid any spy related items as well. This left very little anybody wanted to talk about. "

"After about fifteen minutes, surprised Chuck held out that long, he wanted to ask me a question. 'Jill, the test, or both' I replied. He didn't really say anything which made me say I guess we'll find out if either are in the intersect, but I won't talk about the test until after Orion has shown. I never slept with Jill. Chuck shot an incredulous look and Sarah raised an eyebrow. My Red Test was nothing compared to how I felt after doing that to you. There was a party our frat and her sorority was having that weekend that I was dreading because she would lay into me… that's not what I meant, and the half of our house that didn't believe you cheated were waiting to jump in. The night of the party I tried to stay in our room, but eventually the Tell-Tale Heart started up and I had to get out, right when I opened the door there she was with a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black and two glasses. She asked to come in, I let her and she sat on your bed and looked around the room soaking it all in. She set the glasses on the bed and her hands started shaking as she tried to open the bottle. So I took it from her and asked if she wanted some ice. She said yes, so I put some in her glass and poured us both a drink, she sipped hers; I gulped mine she offered to refill mine I said I would wait until she was ready to talk. She took a deep breath and asked if I thought you were a cheater. I refilled and gulped it down before answering no, but I had a duty to report what I found. I refilled my glass again, but instead of sitting on my bed I just leaned against it sitting on the floor. Jill had tears forming in her eyes as she refilled her glass saying no to any ice and asked a question about Zork. Which led to a different Chuck story to another and another finally as the sun peaked through the blinds and as she was about to pour the last amount I stopped her and said at a wake you always save the last for the guest of honor. Jill got up and headed for the door, when I told her she had forgotten the bottle she turned and said that I had to give it to you. We hugged and that was the second to last time I saw her.

Chuck said 'second to last?' and Sarah was analyzing me to see if I was lying and also how Chuck was handling this. I said yes, the day after house charges were brought against me that I broke our code by spending the night with Jill. I said nothing happened but the response was that Jill had said it happened; with the hostility in the house and reliving the memories every time I went in there I was ready to leave anyways. I was given until the coming Friday to get my stuff out or they would throw it out, a few wanted to do it anyways until I told them that you had left some stuff there. I put your things in a box and in two days was able to find a room and get my stuff out. After finding a place I called Jill to find out why and the last time I saw her Jill said her roommate had said it to their sisters and it spread from there; even with her denial at this point nobody believed it didn't happen. At this point a thought came to me 'Chuck what was Jill's roommate's name and has she been checked for Fulcrum ties?' After a moment Chuck remembered her name and hacking into the database as nothing was in the Intersect found no files on Jill's roommate Sherri Thomas. Sarah looked like she figured out where I was going when she said 'You think she went there to seduce you as part of a Fulcrum test and her roomie spreading the word around helped seal the story she succeeded. Can't hurt to check on it.' Chuck furiously typed on his laptop and flashed on whatever was on the screen; before he spoke he looked at me and said she worked for a Roark subsidiary that appeared to be a Fulcrum recruiting outpost.

Chuck called Casey and put it on speaker, unknown to Casey, and said there was a possible Fulcrum agent to check on. Casey grunted and asked how twinkle toes was doing, Chuck admonished him and his response was not caring who I had sex with, but I was using a potential relationship with Walker to try and break the team up. If it was for a relationship he could somewhat understand, but with this change it was being done either because I didn't want to be alone or to spite Chuck one more time, the unmistakable sounds of knuckles cracking and the venom in Casey's last statement had me wide eyed and Chuck stammering, so Sarah responded with 'Thank you John, but I had chosen Chuck over the CIA before he downloaded the Intersect' Casey responded with, 'well hopefully this gets you past the damn lady fee… Bartowski am I on speaker!' Chuck was now wide eyed so I spoke, 'Yes you are; now I can place that girlish laugh I heard.' Sarah was now wide eyed as well, 'Colonel, it was the first reason that you said, I was tired of being on the run and I needed somebody whom I could trust and keep up with me. I have no intentions on breaking up your team anymore and since Sarah claims to be in charge of my rehab I'm sure she'll allow you some input. If you could do a favor for Chuck and just check his locker.' Casey grunted and opening it said that there was a velvet pouch in there. Taking the pouch Casey pulled out a titanium flask which had an inscription that stated 'To Chuck, The Best Man I Ever Knew'. There was silence on the other end of the phone and Chuck and Sarah were just staring at me. I thanked Casey and said I had just gotten the inscription after the wedding. Casey then said he'd forward the info about the roommate to Beckman, but be prepared for her to contact me soon and hung up. After that Chuck and I shared some stories with Sarah and sooner than expected Orion showed up.

Chuck and Sarah left the room as your dad ran a number of tests; finally he grabbed what looked like a PSP and said that it was good that I called because an incomplete flash could cause an overstimulation of the brain. He put on a pair of glasses and activated his device; after a few minutes I felt discombobulated your dad ran some more tests and said the Intersect was suppressed. I thanked him for coming and apologized for disappointing him which softened his face and he grabbed my arm and said there were a lot of things that should have been done differently in the past. I then asked if he was here as Orion, picking up on my subtlety, said he was here as Stephen; so I told him what really happened, but to give Chuck the opportunity to tell you because I promised not to tell Orion. Stephen nodded, but started to get angry about why he would reload. I told him back in Stanford I made the right call in not getting him involved, but he is not the same boy he was. He probably is one of the few who can handle everything the new Intersect had as I told him of the modifications and skills that were added. He said he was going over the code and thought with these additions there needed to be a smoother and more permanent method to utilize it. However if Chuck had it he was going to get started on creating a governor and explained what it did. When I asked what he would have done if things went as planned, he said that was why he gave me the phone number. There was one longtime project he wanted to finally complete, then was going to work on the governor so that if or when the call came it would be ready. He got up and was ready to leave when I asked if it were ok if I shared some of the past with Chuck. He hesitated and I said I wouldn't put him in a bad light and it could help explain that even away you were trying to watch out for them. He thanked me and left the room.

About ten minutes later Chuck and Sarah came back into the room, him with a look of relief briefly mentioning he couldn't believe how his dad took the news. Sarah smiled and nodded towards me; he looked at me and I said I only promised not to tell Orion, not Stephen Bartowski. But that set up what I wanted to tell before going into getting Chuck kicked out of Stanford. I asked what the similarity was of Orion, Sarah Walker, John Casey, Charles Carmichael, and Bryce Larkin. They looked at me just like you two; a minute passed and Ellie's eyes widened as she found it: they are all spy names.

"Congrats, you got it before they did, although I don't think they knew about Casey at the time."

Devon then quickly added, "Wait, if you had that name at Stanford that means you were already a spy when you met Chuck."

Ellie picked up on that, "When you asked my dad permission, he was the one who sent you… to watch out for Chuck?"

"Well that and to get an education, it was not initially planned I was accepted and told Orion, he informed me about Chuck and just asked to keep an eye out for him. When we met we did truly become friends; there aren't nearly enough people who appreciate Zork to fake a friendship." Seeing the doctors accepted the truth as easily as Chuck and Sarah, he briefly explained that his mother and stepfather were killed in a car-bomb, but he had survived. He was ten and then met Langston Graham in his hospital room, he was thrown from the blast into the side of the house and cracked his collarbone. Graham said my aptitude tests were remarkably high and asked if I wanted to go into foster care or into a private school that was for very special children. He said things would be taken care of if I chose the school so I agreed. There were about six of us there, but I was by far the youngest. The next was fourteen and ranged up to seventeen; for the most part I was left alone; meals and library time were the only times all of us were together. At thirteen I was the only one left, two others had arrived after me one was eight and left after a week, the other twelve and lasted just under a month. While they taught standard things, they also taught combat skills, and even basic weapons training. Scheduled play like hide and seek was amped to establish spy instincts. On my fourteenth birthday, Graham arrived and said that I would be leaving for a year, I wasn't in trouble, but there was an expert who was looking for an apprentice. When I asked if he was taking me to him, he shook his head and said that he was an expert in hiding and that I had an unbelievable chance to be able to learn from him. Graham had been given coordinates where I was to be, and if there was anything out of the ordinary there would be hell to pay. After the year he would send another set of coordinates to pick me up; that is when I met your father.

Ellie was in a bit of shock, but Devon was thinking about something, "What things needed to be taken care of?"

"It didn't get past Sarah either, but to keep you all on fairly equal footing. I have a stepsister, knowing the Bartowski curiosity I will ask to not try and dig into my past. I have made sure nobody knows about her that could link her to me; in fact this was the first project I worked on with your dad." Bryce said solemnly.

Devon immediately nodded and Ellie did as well, but had a look on her face which Bryce could not read so he described the year which expanded to eighteen months. There were some missions, a lot of computer work, and also some work on the Intersect including having the decision in choosing a cube as the shape of the container of the information based off of one of his favorite comic-book characters and his crimson headed arch-nemesis. After the eighteen months I did not want to leave, but your dad said there were things he had put off, but if there was a problem he gave me a code to contact him which is what I did after getting my acceptance at Stanford. When he sent me away, I thought what he had put off were the both of you as he had a picture that he looked at every morning; and even though he assured me I wasn't the reason he wasn't with you it still was always in the back of my mind.

"So I am going to apologize for Jill."

"Bryce that's silly, even Sarah would say that's…" Chuck stopped as her reactionary scowl at the mention of the brunette froze him. Sarah pulled Chuck in for a deep kiss then added it was silly and if he hadn't it was likely they wouldn't be here right now.

As I explained about Professor Fleming's class they both seemed to know the story and said that he had left his files in my storage place in the library. I reminded Chuck that I tried to talk him out of the class, even more vehemently after Orion found out he signed up for it. Since I was already with the CIA it was required of me to take it and got a ninety which did allow a different path to the spy world than the truth. After hearing the score and intercepting the phone call stealing the exam was the only thing I could think of at the time; I had left a message for your dad about the perfect score. Chuck interrupted and said he had a ninety-eight, I told him ninety-eight was the highest you could possibly get and that ninety-four appeared before to be the highest score one could logically expect. An eighty-eight to ninety-four got you the meeting; eighty-four to eighty-seven brought you to the office for a smaller scale test of ten. Your dad called me that night and I told him what I suggested to Fleming and after a pause agreed that we had to do this and Fleming had to scrub the record which he apparently did not do, otherwise even if we said it was a glitch you would have been taken for more testing. Again I know that we wouldn't be here now if I had thought of a different plan and that although it didn't affect me nearly as much as Chuck. That merely accelerated the corruption of my soul. Sarah seemed to understand where I was going with this as she didn't want Chuck as a spy either. However the conviction of his argument soon won us both over, although learning about what a Red Test entails had him worried. Sarah said maybe between the four of us, including Casey could come up with something because even though Carmichael had two kills, both were self-defense and not sanctioned and most likely Beckman would want to make sure her 2.0 was complete with all the bells and whistles.

From this point I told about Chuck going to an accelerated spy school that Sarah joined him at after supervising my rehab and reestablishing myself as the Intersect we were going with a similar playbook , but corrected some of the flaws as I did not come back to Burbank before last year's Thanksgiving mistake. As I was still CIA I could only tell them some of the things I did to help out the team. I got Chuck access to Shaw's personal files to help track down Sarah, I informed him about the Nighthawk motorcycle he used to get Volkoff (Hartley), and most importantly disappeared a plane containing a large number of Russian combat troops, both in and out of the country. Ellie asked why didn't I leave the CIA with the others and I said because of Decker, somebody had to try and watch him. However Decker was also watching me so communication was difficult and most of it went through Beckman. There was another reason and that is what I am working on right now which brought a smile to both of the Woodcombe's. With Decker gone and hopefully your approval of me being here the time may be right to readdress the situation.

Devon thought all of his concerns had been answered, however Ellie still needed to know about that night before Bryce and Chuck's senior year and from her look Bryce knew he couldn't avoid it anymore. "The simple truth Ellie is that I was young, cocky, and drunk. Unfortunately the cockiness kept me from apologizing to you the next morning as I clearly should have. Attempting to seduce you was just wrong and I am truly sorry for that." Ellie saw the sincerity of Bryce's words and was finally ready to hear the story.

"Just to let you know the cockiness was mostly due to having just completed my first solo mission and I wanted to celebrate which is why Chuck and I went to downtown LA and one of the top night clubs. Initially they weren't going to let us in, but then luckily a hotel heiress took pity on us and we were ushered inside. As they both had doubtful looks, Bryce provided a thumb drive. When Chuck had his meeting with the professor I downloaded photos from this night and a number of other great times that I hoped sometime I'd be able to look at again. So here she is as she's talking to the doorman, waving us in with her and going into her roped off area. Chuck seeing only hard liquor went to get a beer at the bar without telling me. I turned around and found him gone and before I could go into spy mode to look for him, Par… she giggled and said pointing she doubted I would see much of my friend for the night as I was able to snap the one picture.

"Chuck danced with a porn star!" Ellie exclaimed at the screen.

"Really, Awe…"The look completely stopped Devon, "Wait how do you know this woman is a porn star?"

Bryce had a smile on his face as he was certain he was going to have to go to Wikipedia or something similar to let them know who Chuck was dancing with, because Chuck had no clue, but Bryce did.

Ellie started to say well just look at her, but couldn't do that. Devon let her off the hook when he said, "So did Chuck spend most of the night with Tera Patrick?"

"No, two dances was all she could coax out of him, after thanking the heiress for letting us in she and I went our separate ways and I soon found my way to the bar next to Chuck. After finding out why he stopped with just two dances, he said she seemed nice and quite flexible in her own words, but he felt guilty about Jill being at some leadership conference. I told him he should call her if he felt guilty, but that he had done nothing wrong. So he called, she didn't pick up, but felt a great deal of relief after leaving a message and we had a good time the rest of the night as I picked up quite a few phone numbers along with some photos…"

"Wait wasn't she on that space cowboy thing Chuck loved?" Devon asked.

"Hmm, I haven't had the chance to catch up with my inner nerd for quite some time. I'll ask Chuck after seeing how I can help with the Omen." Bryce replied.

"So Chuck hasn't seen these pictures?"

"No, Ellie, I just dug them out to show him, but I'm not sure if I am going to show them Chuck's dancing." Bryce raised his eyebrows to signify Ellie shouldn't tease him about it, "I have another flash drive without that one and some other risqué photos that I was going to give to him, but I wanted to check with you first."

"Why didn't you go with any of these women?" Ellie asked then exclaimed, "Oh, but you said you didn't know that you were gay until later?" Now Ellie looked confused.

"I haven't really addressed that either, but the main reason was I brought Chuck out there and I didn't want to just leave him there. Unfortunately I also wanted to come back here for you, Ellie. The time I spent with your father every so often he would tell stories about you, Chuck, or both and then with practically three years of stories from Chuck, he unwittingly built you up and as a young, drunk, cocky spy I wanted to test whatever powers I had." Bryce looked over at Devon to make sure he was ok before continuing. "Whenever you came to Stanford, Devon was with you and we never talked as usually Chuck whisked you out of the house. So I thought it was fate as you came up to the door as Chuck was fumbling around trying to find the right key. You opened it I dropped Chuck on his bed and made up the couch. I sent some subtle signals, but you didn't pick up on them or you would have stopped me then. I waited five minutes went up to the bathroom, checked myself out as ready and went into your bedroom and called your name leaning over the bed."

"I cannot believe I didn't scream when I heard your voice, but why were you there?"

"Even though I was confident, you always need a viable exit strategy, it allowed me to be close enough to potentially do things like grazing your cheek, pulling a strand of hair behind your ear, but still maintain a distance to not invade your personal space. When I recognized that look of rigidness with a hint of contempt when you said for me to get out; I knew retreat was the only option available. I got up at 8 waited a half hour for movement from either of you, so I left."

"Wait you did more than that, Devon what did I tell you."

"It was pretty much what Bryce said, although he neglected the sweet talk, but you said he touched your cheek and took some hair out of your eyes you told him to leave and he did. Babe, if he had done more believe me I would have been at Stanford that day. I took it as a creepy drunk moment that he realized after sobering up because he left. I think because it never got resolved and from all the crap he pulled on Chuck it was easier to make it grow into something more than what it was. I wish you would have brought this up, I would have never allowed you and Bryce to meet alone last year." Devon finished by hugging his wife.

Bryce's spy instincts crept in as he went over possible exits, finished and looked down," The last thing I want to do is hurt Chuck and if my being here hurts you that will cause him pain as well. Don't worry I know I caused this and if you aren't ready for me to be at the party tomorrow I'm sure with the Omen lurking there won't be a shortage of things to do. I did get something for Clara so hopefully that can find its way to the tree. I will tell Chuck about it non-specifically so he won't pressure you and we can email still until you can feel comfortable with me around."

"Bryce, one thing that has become apparent over the past few years is waiting for the perfect time is silly because it never comes. Am I completely comfortable, not yet, but knowing that you've helped Chuck and explaining a lot of what happened is making it easier, also backtracking on the events that night should help clear the way. So you are definitely still expected at the party and your gift will be received by Clara. How long has it been since you've seen Chuck?"

"The day before I was released from the hospital he started his training, Sarah left two weeks later, that was the last time I've really talked to them in person. I went off mission to be at their wedding and had to leave right after; kind of glad I didn't after hearing about Hartley's gift. Huh, I'm actually a little nervous. So, are we ok?" Bryce asked.

"Not quite there's one more thing that needs to be done because of that night and then I'll drop it." Devon paused as Bryce looked at him questioningly, "Head or gut?"

Bryce laughed out, "The head's still the moneymaker and with a small amount of shrapnel still in my gut, it's a tough call. How about this you get an arm and Ellie can have the gut?"

Devon looked over at Ellie, who just tilted her head and sighed, and said it was acceptable to him and surprised Bryce as Devon's punch was lighter than he expected but he nailed his deltoid and would feel it. Ellie came up still shaking her head and asked where Bryce had been shot as he was pointing to his left side she delivered a hard right to his right solar plexus. The overall shock left Bryce speechless for a moment until he was finally able to mutter out, "Sarah". Ellie grinned and nodded; Devon held back a snicker as he was surprised Bryce was still standing.

"Thank you Bryce, I cannot believe how much better I feel. I was under a lot of stress and it is mostly about trying to make Clara's Christmas as memorable as possible and I do forgive you." For the second time in as many minutes Ellie shocked Bryce again by pulling him into a hug, not a typical Eleanor Bartowski hug, but unquestionably a hug. Bryce knowing now was the opportune time to leave thanked them, said he was going to be at the party, smiled and left. Walking across the courtyard to see how he can possibly help his ex-roommate, and potentially future boss, save the world.

_**A/N: This chapter was unreal to finish. There was a lot of editing, still not entirely happy with it. I switched from the first person style during the chapter as it allowed for a view that Bryce may not be privy to. The conversation Bryce was having with Ellie and Devon were similar to the one he had with Chuck and Sarah after the 2.0 so although I bounced back and forth it was just to remind the story was told to both sets of couples. Also no disrespect was meant to any persons alive, dead, or undead. As always reviews are encouraged. This was the setup and the next chapter will get into the storyline. I know some canon was compromised as Devon treating Bryce in vs the Break-Up doesn't make sense, but nobody's perfect.**_


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